GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OP MYTHS. 329 



It is not needful to accumulate great masses of sncli tales as 

 tliese^ in order to show that the myth-making faculty belongs 

 to mankind in general, and manifests itself in the most distant 

 regions, where its unity of principle developes itself in endless 

 variety of form. There may indeed be a remote historical con- 

 nexion at the root of some of the analogies in myths from far 

 distant regions, which have just been mentioned ; but when 

 resemblances in Mythology are brought forward as proofs of 

 such historical connexion, they must be closer and deeper than 

 these. Mythological evidence, to be used for such a purpose, 

 requires a systematic agreement in the putting together of a 

 number of events or ideas, which agreement must be so close 

 as to make it in a high degree improbable that two such com- 

 binations should have occurred separately, or at least the tales 

 or ideas found alike in distant regions must be of so quaint and 

 fantastic a character as to make it, on the very face of the 

 matter, unlikely that they should have been invented twice. 

 But it is both easier and safer to appeal to the eflfects of 

 known intercourse between different peoples in spreading be- 

 liefs and popular tales, as evidence of the way in which histo- 

 rical connexion really does record itself in Mythology, than to 

 lay down a priori rules as to what the effects of such connexion 

 ought to be. 



When we consider how short the time is since the Indians 

 of North America have been acquainted with guns, the fact that 

 there has been recorded, as one of their native beliefs, the no- 

 tion that there are men who have charmed lives, and can only 

 be killed with a silver bullet, may prepare us for the way in 

 which savages can take up foreign mythology into their own. 

 Again, it might be naturally expected that Bible stories learnt 

 from missionaries, settlers, and travellers, should pass in a more 

 or less altered shape into the folk-lore of savage races. Moffat 

 gives a good instance which happened to himself. He had 

 never succeeded in finding a deluge-tradition in South Africa, 

 but making inquiries in a Namaqua village, he came upon a 

 somewhat intelligent native who had one to tell, so he began 

 with great satisfaction to take it down in writing. By the time 

 it was finished, however, he began to suspect, for it bore the 



